Detoxify with the Lemonade Diet also known as the Master Cleanser Diet

Our bodies naturally detoxify everyday as part of a normal body process. Detoxification is one of the body’s most basic automatic functions of eliminating and neutralizing toxins through the colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph and skin. Unfortunately in this day and age, with the pollution found in the air, water and food we eat, our bodies have a hard time keeping up. Our diets full of chemicals, with too much animal protein, too much saturated and trans fats, too much caffeine and alcohol radically changes our internal ecosystem.

Body systems and organs that were once capable of cleaning out unwanted substances are now completely over-loaded to the point where toxic material remains inside our tissues. Our bodies try to protect us from dangerous substances by setting it aside, surrounding it with mucous and fat so that it will not cause an imbalance or trigger an immune response (some people carry up to 15 extra pounds of mucous that harbors this waste)

Detoxification through special cleansing diets and colonics is the best way to assist your body’s natural self-cleaning system. It is especially important for immune-compromised diseases like cancer, arthritis, diabetes and chronic fatigue. However, even if your diet is good, a spring cleanse can revitalize your system and rid your body of harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites.

One of the most commonly used detox diets, especially since they received a lot of press due to Beyonce Knowles and Angelina Jolie using them, is lemonade detox diet also known as the Master Cleanser Diet. Alternative health practitioner and naturopath Stanley Burroughs developed the lemonade detox diet to detox your body by drinking lemonade. The purpose of this diet is to detox your body by removing toxins from your kidneys, muscles, joints and digestive system while helping your bloodstream to return to a healthy flow.

So, how does The Lemonade Detox Diet work? Well, it is recommended to clear your bowels the day before by taking a senna laxative. Then, each day of the cleanse, you start the day with either a laxative tea, or a salt-water flush made with 1 qt. of warm water mixed with salt. This ensures that even though you aren’t consuming solid foods, you still pass waste.

Throughout the day, it is recommended to drink six to nine glasses of lemonade, or whenever you feel hungry. It is also permitted to drink herbal teas throughout the day, in addition to the laxative tea or salt water both morning and night. No solid foods are to be taken on the fast.

The ideal length is a 10- to 14-day fast. This will ensure that optimum time has been given to flush out the toxins. Most people report feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after the fast, have shed excess pounds, and are ready to begin a healthier eating regimen. The Lemonade Detox Diet works to cleanse your body and help you to begin anew.

Ingredients of the Lemonade Diet

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about the equivalent of the juice of one lemon)
1/6th of a teaspoon (or a pinch) of cayenne for taste
1 to 2 teaspoons of Grade B maple syrup (For best results, use Organic Grade B maple syrup)
10 oz. filtered water, make sure you do not use tab water

When you get up in the morning, drink a quart of lukewarm water with two measured teaspoons of sea salt. The salt should be uniodized and all of the water that you use should be purified or spring, not tap water. During the day, drink 10 servings of lemonade.

The reported benefits of this lemonade detox diet are:

Total cleansing of the colon, kidneys and blood and years upon years of built-up waste

Taking out heavy metals and toxins out of the lining of the intestines and colon.

Giving your body a break from an overload of protein which most people overly consume, which leads to     problems such as kidney stones and kidney disease.

More energy and less lethargy

• More mental Clarity

• Better deeper sleep

• Less jitters and shakiness

• A Strengthened immune system

• Ache and pain relief

• Make you look and feel much younger

• An almost euphoric or spiritual journey

• Lose Weight!

Side Effects of the Master Cleanser Diet

The first few days of the program can be tough. Like any other fast-type diet, learning to get along without your normal amount of food is difficult. And, like any juice fast, learning to get along without solid food can be a tremendous challenge.

In addition, because this diet is a cleansing fast or detox diet, there are “detox” symptoms that may occur, including headaches, nausea and vomiting, cravings, fatigue and irritability. Most of these symptoms are short-lived. On rare occasions, they may be so severe that the dieter has to end the diet early. The first few days you will need to be near a toilet as you will be visiting it very often since your colon will be cleansed.

Medical Considerations

Because it represents a tremendous change in eating habits, persons who wish to try it would be wise to discuss it with their physician first. In particular, individuals taking long-term medication that cannot be safely discontinued for the duration of the diet need to consult with their physician. The doctor may wish to monitor the dieter to ensure that the change in dietary habits does not alter the effects of the medication.

Persons who have followed the diet have reported changes in blood-pressure, blood-sugar / insulin levels, and depression, all of which required alteration of their normal dose of medication for these conditions.

Health Warnings

Persons following this diet should follow it exactly as written, and, ideally, under the supervision of their personal physician. Individuals should also be attuned to their body’s signals that it is time to transition back to eating. The recommended 10 days is sufficient for most people; higher numbers of days would not be recommended unless the person were under a physician’s care and had become accustomed to shorter-term fasts.

Drink at least the minimum amount of the lemonade each day; Burroughs and Glickman both state that one should drink 6 to 12 glasses of the lemonade per day. With 100 calories per 2 tablespoons of Grade B maple syrup, and 8 calories per 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 1 calories per 1/6 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, each drink provides approximately 109 calories. Thus, it would be important to drink 11 to 12 glasses per day to ensure that at least 1200 calories were consumed.

To guard against dehydration, water should also be taken throughout the cleanse. Many cleansers drink a glass of water between glasses of lemonade.

Persons who wish to follow this program more than once a year are advised to wait three to six months between stints; the longer the time on the diet, the longer one should wait to repeat it. Three months between 10-day stints is the minimum recommended interval.

Nutritionist Notes

The concern with the Lemonade Diet is its lack of nutrition. As stated, the sole source of energy and nutrients of this diet is obtained from lemon juice, water, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. The laxative tea replaces dietary fiber, but is not the form the body prefers. Most importantly, any eating plan that does not supply an average of 1200 calories a day is not safe or supportive of optimal health.

The impact of this diet on the intestinal system is intense. This is not kept a secret. However, there are other ways of cleansing the body without suffering from the enormity of stomach pain and diarrhea reported on this program. Dehydration is a definite side effect and one that requires constant monitoring. Dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fever, headaches, blurred vision and fatigue are a few of the symptoms of dehydration.

It is doubtful that any medical professional would recommend or support the undertaking of this regime. Most importantly, this program is not intended for weight loss purposes. It needs to be seen and utilized strictly for detoxification. It is also strongly suggested from medical experts that these types of diets be followed for a minimal length of time, if any. Forty days of the Lemonade Diet is not recommended for any one.

The Lemonade Diet should be called by its original title: The Master Cleanse. Any program with “diet” in its title provokes the idea of the newest weight loss trend. This diet is no exception as perennial dieters seek the latest ways to shed unwanted pounds. The fact is lemons are not magical fat-burners. The only reason for weight loss with the Lemonade Diet is the unfavorable breakdown of muscle and fat stores in order to sustain our highly active bodily systems, as well as the depletion of our water stores.

Final Note

Having explored some of the issues that you should consider before starting this detox diet, there are quite few people that have tried the diet and use it a couple of times a year with great results. They report tremendous benefits from it. Just keep in mind that it is an extreme detox diet.

I am attaching some comments made to answers at yahoo.com on this detox method:

Yes, I have done 5 of them over the past 3 years. Each time I do the minimum of 10 days……..a little rough for me. However I make it a point to do it once a year for proper maintenance.

The first one I did, I lost 20 pounds and it has been gone since! Man the gunk I had stored in there from years of eating garbage….and I was even a vegetarian before the cleanse! Since that time I completely gave up fast foods and only shop at health food stores and eat organic. I don’t want to dirty up my insides again with processed chemically laced foods and GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) fruits and vegetables.

The things to keep in mind are to eliminate, eliminate, eliminate! Drink lots and lots of water. Also be sure to flush with either the internal sea salt water bathing to clean the intestines or use Epsom salts. If you don’t eliminate the toxins the lemonade is trying to clear, it will only move to another part of the body and get stored there. You will feel less tired during the detox if you eliminate the toxins being loosened from the intestines.

It also helps to read the book over and over as a reinforcer to help understand what you are doing. “The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs”.

Also…DON’T listen to people who tell you that you are crazy for doing this! Just smile and nod…lol! Remember that most of them are sitting in front of a television that is consistantly peddling drugs and amazingly expensive exercise equipment by our corrupt health industry. This clouds their vision with hopes and fears that a magic pill will somehow make them feel better or that those 20 minute intense workouts are burning fat when it’s actually just burning blood sugar. If all those commercials were true, why are so many people overweight? Hmmmm…which then leads them to believe we need food everyday to survive when the actual case is that the lemons and maple syrup provide all the nutirents we need during this process. (A bit opinionated there) but it’s just simple common sense. I’m not out to hurt anyone it is just upsetting to see so many good people overweight. All because of money hungry corporations saturating the media. Unplug your TV from the source and use it only for DVD movies….Like I did!

Anyway….lol…..I just keep in my mind that we all must keep our insides clean. Sort of like washing a car….the outside looks great but if you don’t keep the engine clean it will die.

Much success to you…..you will feel amazingly better when you come off the diet/cleanse not to mention the wonderful weight loss (if that is your goal as well)!

Hang in there…you can do it!!!

Peace!

I love this cleanse….I’m a cayenne fanatic…it’s a great healing agent (the cleanse as well as the cayenne). Love the taste…love the burn…There’s no set recipe that I know of. Use fresh lemons(of coarse) and real maple syrup to taste…then as much cayenne as you can handle. Drink lots of water during your cleanse,but no alcohol, caffeine (any)or soda.
I did it once for 10 days. I’ve known people who have made it 30 days. I felt weak the first couple of days, but after that I felt great.

i did it several years ago for 5 days. it is important to keep your bowels moving during the cleanse. an internal salt water bath, enemas, or colonics will work. go gently when adding food back into your body. soups and blended drinks are good. you may want to do this before starting too.